Brigette Lacquette
At five years old, Brigette Lacquette fell in love with hockey on the outdoor rink her dad built in
their small Métis community of Mallard, Manitoba. Hockey was more than a game for her, it was
a way to make a name for herself, a way to overcome, and a way to open doors to endless
possibilities.
Growing up in a remote community, Lacquette would travel over an hour to the nearest hockey rink to play. She credits much of her development to watching and playing in the various Indigenous tournaments she took part in, including representing her Reserve, Cote First Nations, at the Tony Cote First Nations Winter Games (formerly Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games).
In 2009 and 2010, Lacquette played her first games on the blue line for Team Canada when she won a silver and gold medal, respectively, at the U18 Women’s World Championships. After a collegiate career with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, she joined the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL where she won the Clarkson Cup in 2016.
The biggest door of possibilities opened for Brigette Lacquette in 2018 when she became the first First Nations woman to play hockey in the Olympics with Team Canada. She left PyeongChang with a silver medal and a determination to make sure that while she was the first, she certainly wouldn’t be the last Indigenous hockey player to skate in the Olympics.
Now a member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), Brigette Lacquette is ensuring that other Indigenous kids are able to walk through the same doors she opened for herself through hockey as a mentor, speaker, and role model. For Brigette Lacquette, hockey isn’t just a game, it’s an avenue to reach your full potential.
Growing up in a remote community, Lacquette would travel over an hour to the nearest hockey rink to play. She credits much of her development to watching and playing in the various Indigenous tournaments she took part in, including representing her Reserve, Cote First Nations, at the Tony Cote First Nations Winter Games (formerly Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games).
In 2009 and 2010, Lacquette played her first games on the blue line for Team Canada when she won a silver and gold medal, respectively, at the U18 Women’s World Championships. After a collegiate career with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, she joined the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL where she won the Clarkson Cup in 2016.
The biggest door of possibilities opened for Brigette Lacquette in 2018 when she became the first First Nations woman to play hockey in the Olympics with Team Canada. She left PyeongChang with a silver medal and a determination to make sure that while she was the first, she certainly wouldn’t be the last Indigenous hockey player to skate in the Olympics.
Now a member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), Brigette Lacquette is ensuring that other Indigenous kids are able to walk through the same doors she opened for herself through hockey as a mentor, speaker, and role model. For Brigette Lacquette, hockey isn’t just a game, it’s an avenue to reach your full potential.
